Fiberboard protective structure for television sets



FIBERBOARD PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE FOR TELEVISION SETS Filed Aug. 18, 1953 BY gr ATTORNEY United States Patent FIBERBOARD PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE FOR TELEVISION SETS Melvin A. Riley, Baltimore, Md., assignor to The Baltimore Paper Box Company, Baltimore, Md.

Application August 18, 1953, Serial No. 374,983 4 Claims. (Cl. 229-14) The present invention relates to a fiberboard structure adapted to hold the top of a television cabinet in proper spaced relationship with respect to a shipping box and to prevent damage to the set during transit.

An object of the invention is to provide a tray structure adapted to fit over the top portion of a television cabinet to provide padding around the upper portion of the television cabinet of an adequate strength to prevent shifting of the television cabinet within the shipping box and to provide a cover for a portion of the laminated padding so as to avoid scratching or marring of a glass covering the front end of the picture tube.

A further object of the invention is to provide superimposed layers of corrugated fiberboard adapted to lie along the curved glass Window at the front of a television set and to provide protective covering for the superimposed layers of corrugated fiberboard so as to prevent the edges of the fiberboard laminations from scratching the glass covering of the forward end of the picture tube.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent and appreciated as the present disclosure proceeds and upon consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing wherein an embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fiberboard structure exhibiting the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the device in an inverted position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 illustrating the manner in which the protective device fits within the top of a shipping box.

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the front portion of protective device illustrated within a shipping carton or box.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the panel and flaps are formed.

It is now the practice in the television receiver art to increase the size of the picture tube and some television sets are now being marketed wherein the glass panel covering the forward end of the picture tube is of arcuate formationwith the outer surface of'the glass panel being convex so that the screen may be viewed from wide angles. The glass panel covering the forward end of the picture tube extends to a position near the top of the television cabinet and the shipping of such a television set thus requires added protection for the bulged glass at the front thereof.

The present invention relates to a fiberboard structure for fitting over the top of the television cabinet including a pad structure having a concave inner surface adapted to lie along the glass panel which covers the forward end of the picture tube. The end structure formed of fiberboard is shown generally at in the drawing and includes a rectangular shaped panel 11 having such overall dimensions as to fit within a shipping carton or box having parallel side and end walls.

A flap 14 is carried by one side edge of the panel 11 and is adapted to be bent along the fold line 16 so that the flap 14 will be arranged in a plane substantially at right angles to the panel 11. A plurality of strips 17 of corrugated fiberboard are adhesively joined to each other in face-to-face relationship and bonded to the inner face of the flap 14. The strips 17 of fiberboard are snflicient in number to provide a spacer element along one side of the end structure for maintaining the top portion of the television cabinet in spaced relation to the side wall 18 of the shipping box as will be apparent from a consideration of Fig. 4. It will be observed that the fiberboard strips 17 are of the same length so that shoulders 21 and 22 are provided at the ends of the strips 17.

A similar flap 23 formed integral with the panel 11 is provided along the other side thereof. The panel 23 is bent along the fold line 24 so that the flap 23 may also be arranged substantially at right angles to the plane of the panel 11. A plurality of strips 26 of corrugated fiberboard are adhesively joined to each other and to the inner face of the flap 23 to provide padding along the other side of the inverted tray. It will be noted that the ends of the strips 26 are flush with each other to provide shoulders 27 and 28 at the ends of the strips 26.

The under face of the panel 11 carries a plurality of superimposed boards 29 of corrugated fiberboard which are adhesively joined to each other in face-to-face relationship and bonded to the under surface of the panel 11. A pad structure 31 is thus provided across the rear portion of the protective tray and the inner edges of the boards 29 form a shoulder 32 which is adapted to depend along the rear of the television cabinet represented in phantom lines at 33 in Fig. 3. The rear edges of the boards 29 are also in alignment for engaging the back wall 34 of the shipping box. The enlarged space between the shoulder 32 and the wall 34 of the shipping box is provided for accommodating the rear end of the picture tube and its cover which usually projects rearwardly beyond the television cabinet. The shoulder 32 of the boards 29 is in abutting relationship with the shoulders 22 and 28 of the padding structures at the sides of the panel 11. The end surfaces of the boards 29 are also in alignment so that the inner surfaces of the flaps 14 and 23 lie in abutting relationship with the ends of the corrugated fiberboards 29. The corrugations of the fiberboards 31 extend in the direction of the double arrow 36.

The inverted tray or end structure for fitting over the top of the television cabinet includes a plurality of elongated fiberboard members 37 adhesively joined to each other in face-to-face relationship and adhesively bonded to the under face of the panel 11. The strips 3'7 extend transversely of the panel across the front portion thereof. The inner edge of each of the elongated fiberboard members 37 is of concave shape as indicated at the two zones 39 (Fig. 4) and the radius of curvature of these inner edges corresponds to the convex curvature of the glass panel which covers the forward end of the picture tube. The inner edges of the elongated fiberboard members 37 at the central portion are straight as indicated at 42. The concave edges 39 of the elongated fiberboard members 37 are in vertical alignment and the shoulders thereby provided would normally serve to hold the front portion of the television cabinet in proper spaced relationship from the front wall 43 of the shipping box. The raw edges of this laminated pad structure have been found to scratch the glass panel covering the front of the picture tube.

The present invention provides an arrangement for preventing such scratching of the glass panel. The blank from which the fiberboard .panel 11 is cut includes an extension 45 along the front edge thereof as shown in Fig. 5. This extension is bent along a fold line 44 so that a portion 46 of the extension covers the outer edges of the elongated fiberboard members 37. The extension is bent along the fold line 48 and a portion 49 of the extension lies along the bottom surface of the superposed elongated fiberboard members 37. Two tabs 51 and 52 are then bent at right angles to the portion 49 so that the tabs 51 and 52 lie along the inner edge portions 39 of the fiberboard members 37. The tab portions 51 and 52 are thereby disposed to be arranged between the edges 39 of the lamirrations 37 and the glass panel of the television cabinet which is represented by phantom lines 53. The fiberboard forming the tab portions 51 and 52 thus provides protection between the edges 39 and the glass panel of the television set. The adjacent ends of the tabs 51 and 52 are spaced from each other in the area 56 and the portion 49 terminates in alignment with the inner edges 42 of the laminations 37. This structure permits the tabs 51 and 52 to be bent in arcu-ate formation so as to lie along the concave edges 39 of the laminations 37.

The panel 11 may be provided with a pair of slots 58 through which binding tape or the like may be insorted to hold the tabs 51 and 52 in proper position along the concave edges 39 of the pad structure to facilitate the mounting of the tnay over the top of the television cabinet. Adhesive paper tape inserted through the slots 58 and wound around the tabs 51 and 52 has been found satisfactory for holding protective tabs in position along arcuate edges 39 of the laminations 37. it will be observed that the ends of the laminations 37 and the ends of the portion 49 of the panel extension are in abutting relationship with inner surfaces of the flaps 14 and 23.

A plurality of reinforcing strips 61 ,adhesively joined to each other and adhesively secured to the top face of the panel 11. extend along one side edge thereof as shown in Fig. 1. A similar group of reinforcing strip 62 are adhesively joined to each other in inter-facial relationship and adhesively secured to the top face of the panel are arranged along the other side thereof as shown in Fig.1.

The tray is inverted and placed over the top of a television cabinet with the concave portion of the padding in position along the glass ,pane covering the front of the picture tube. Any impact force applied to one corner of the shipping box will be transmitted through the shoulders at the ends of the laminations to other portions of the protective end structure. The pad 31 by reason of the transverse disposition of the corrugations transmits blows or the like applied along the rear wall 34 of the shipping box to the shoulders 22 and 28 of the side padding and the disposition of the corrugations in the boards 29 effectively serves to prevent damage to the rear of the television set. The corrugations of the fiberboard strips 17 and 26 extend lengthwise thereof to effectively transmit impact forces between the cushion 31 and the laminated structure at the front of the box.

While the invention has been described with reference to particular structural features and with regard to an arcuate laminated structure at the front of the protective device it will be appreciated that changes may be made in the details as well as the shape of the front padding. Such modifications and others may be made in the elements as well as the general organization without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a fiberboard protective pad structure for the top portion of a television set within a shipping box, a generally rectangular shaped fiberboard panel, an extension carried by the front edge of said panel extending throughout the width of the panel, a fold line defining the boundary between the panel and the extension, a plur-ality of superposed fiberboard strips adhesively joined in face to face relationship and adhering to an upper face of said panel and extending across the width thereof, said fiberboard strips having vertically aligned outer edges in vertical alignment with said fold line and having vertically aligned raw concave inner edges, said extension lying along the aligned outer edges of said strips and along an under face of the lower strip, and spaced tabs carried by a free edge of said extension lying at right angles to the plane of said panel and along the aligned concave edges of said fiberboard strips.

2. A fiberboard protective structure for the top portion of a shipping box comprising, a generally rectangular shaped fiberboard panel, an extension carried by one edge of said panel extending throughout the Width of the panel, a plurality of fiberboard strips secured to each other in face to face relationship and secured to an under face of said panel and extending across the width thereof, said fiberboard strips having substantially aligned outer edges aligned with said edge of the panel and having aligned raw concave inner edges, said extension covering said outer edges and lying along an under face of a lowermost of said strips, two tabs spaced from each other carried by a free edge of said extension lying at right angles to the plane of said panel and along the raw concave edges of said fiberboard strips, and said panel having slots therein generally in alignment with the inner edge of said stri s for receiving tape for holding the tabs in position along the aligned concave edges of said fiberboard strips.

3. A fiberboard protective structure for a shipping box comprising, a substantially rectangular shaped fiberboard panel, an extension carried by the front edge of said panel, a plurality of superimposed fiberboard strips secured to each other in face to face relationship and secured to an under face of said panel, said fiberboard strips having aligned outer edges aligned with the front edge of said panel and having aligned concave inner edges substantially at right angles to the panel, said extension extending downwardly along the outer edges of said strips and under the lowermost strip, spaced tabs carried by free edge portions of said extension lying along the concave inner edges of said strips, each strip having an inner edge portion intermediate said concave edges spaced outwardly from the concave edges, and said extension terminating in alignment with said intermediate edges.

4. A fiberboard protective structure for the top portion of a shipping box comprising, a generally rectangular shaped fiberboard panel, an extension carried by one edge of said panel, a plurality of fiberboard strips secured to each other in face to face relationship and secured to an under face of said panel, said fiberboard strips having substantially aligned outer edges aligned with said edge of the panel and having aligned raw concave inner edges, said extension covering said outer edges and lying along an under face of a lowermost of said strips, two tabs spaced from each other carried by a free edge of said extension lying at right angles to the plane of said panel and along the raw concave edges of said fiberboard strips, and fiberboard pad structures depending from the panel around the remaining perimeter thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,331,009 Ford Feb. 17, 1920 2,077,570 Lamare Apr. 20, 1937 2,144,646 Zalkind Jan. 24, 1939 2,192,992 Bohuke Mar. 12, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 407,495 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1934 

